July arrives and it is hot hot hot hot hot and it carries on into August! There is more ‘Whoohooooooo’ coming these months and the next. How are you finding it so far?

I mentioned in the June indoor article that intensity increases and water is key. This is very much the case for July and August too. Water early in the morning or late in the afternoon or evening so plants have the opportunity to soak up the goodness instead of it evaporating. The list for these months are quite the similar to June so I merged July and August together, only highlighting the points that are slightly different from June.

Let’s take a look at the indoor garden jobs for July and August!

1. Sow, plant, and harvest, eat

Peaches are superb in July. Make sure to water the trees properly to get good sized and tasty fruits. Most of the time they will be finished when August arrives but we might have a late variety and are lucky to have peaches into the beginning of August.

Tomatoes, chillies, peppers, cucumbers, aubergines, all of these will be ready in July and into August. Keep harvesting and make some tasty summer food. Yum!

If planning to sow plants check the list what to sow for winter, spring, and maybe summer. Foxgloves, delphiniums, and viola can all be sown. When sowing at this time of year do make sure to not let trays or modules dry out completely.

2. Take semi-ripe cuttings

We can take cuttings from rhododendrons in July.

In August keep an eye out for shrubs, their material might be ready to take cuttings from too.

Make sure to not let cuttings dry out. They need a humid environment to create new roots, magic! I grow them in an enclosed environment with bottom heat set between 18 and 20 degrees which means heat is provided through a heating cable on the bottom of a bench or propagator. When it is hot inside I tend to mist around the cuttings and briefly over them in the morning and late afternoon or when I can early evening for humidity to form. In these months we might not need bottom heat when it is hot already but do not forget to switch the heat on when temperatures start to cool down.

That's it. Those are the additions to the June list for July and August. Enjoy the garden!